Spiritual Nourishment

In this day and age we have access to God's word so easily, so readily in so many different forms. Hundreds of translations, various methods of telling the stories, thousands of sermons available online at the click of a button and all typically for free. Yet, for some reason we seem to be the most spiritually malnourished generation since Jesus' time on Earth.

Along with this easy access to God's word comes easy access to so many other forms of entertainment, distractions that is. We are so concerned with what's going on in the news, or our favorite TV shows of the year that time with God gets pushed back more and more and more. We say things like "I'll read my Bible tomorrow." But tomorrow is always tomorrow.

Until we change our attitudes, until we change how we think and look at the world, tomorrow will just be tomorrow. It's time for tomorrow to be today; time for later to be now. We can't just sit around waiting for change. If we want change, especially in ourselves, WE have to start it.

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.

-Mahatma Gandhi

God has given us the nourishment we desire, we just have to seek it, and spend our time in it.

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.

-Isaiah 55:1-3

Roots

It's funny to think about who you are, where you are in life, and HOW you got there. Who influenced you? Who turned you in a small direction that changed your life? How did you meet that person? I'm a Christian, I'm trying to let that rule my life, but I wasn't always. I was once determined that no God existed. Where was the change? Where did I go right?

I think it pretty well starts with two people, Aaron Hinds who made fun of me on the bus in the 5th grade, and was one of my best friends by 7th grade. Brandon Hall who I met in the 7th grade walking from the bus stop to my house (about one or two hundred feet), the key to starting our friendship? Yu-Gi-Oh cards. Yep. He had some out and I was way into it, so I talked to him. Also became one of my best friends.

I can't remember the exact details, but between the two of them I became good friends with Hannah Baker, and Michael Pierce. The four of us had some great times. When freshmen year rolled around we were looking at clubs to join and were greatly into anime, so we wanted to join the anime club, but I was unsure about it because I wasn't sure if my parents would approve of it and let me. Hannah encouraged me to try, what did I have to lose? If they said no, so what? That wouldn't be any different then not trying.Things were on my side and I was able to join the anime club.

This next part, I'm not sure I can explain any way other then an act of God. In anime club I had met a few new friends, and during the summer between freshmen and sophomore year I was invited by Ryan Lain to the absolute best birthday party/weekend I have to this day ever experienced. Which led us to pursue a further friendship. What's so miraculous about this is that although we were friends(and actually met in the 8th grade at lunch), Ryan and I had not spoken that much that in normal circumstances I would be someone to invite on a weekend long trip. To this day we don't know 100% why I was invited, I was just a random name that popped up on her list of invites.

Anyhow, over the next couple of years this led the close friendship of Ryan and I(and her family that I now call my own; Dorian, Kym, Kaleigh you are definitely a part of my family.) and led the key point of change in my life. One random Wednesday, during spring, after school I was invited to attend the youth group at Farragut Church of Christ. For the first time in my life I had willingly gone to church. Here started meeting a number of people, including the Wilkins(who are also my family). After school had ended I had no clue what the etiquette was of when seniors were "kicked out" of the youth group so I stopped attending around graduation time. Judah Wilkins got a hold of my phone number somehow and we went to Starbucks, talked about whatever, and went on our ways. Over the next few months he pressured me a bit into attending church, so in September of 2008 I stopped working on Sundays and started attending the church where my life would truly become something else. And on April 8th, 2009 I solidified my new world and was baptized.

To all the people I met along the way, everyone who helped in some small or large fashion to form the person I have become, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, I love you more dearly then you may ever know. Even if you weren't mentioned here, you have made an important impact in my life.


So how about you? What are your roots? Where do you come from? Would you still be you if you had met different people? I know I would not. If my parents had not come to Tennessee, to Knoxville, I have no clue who I would be.